Disney Princesses: A Dream Come True

We just bought annual passes to Disneyland and this week I took my girls by myself! They were dying to dress up in their costumes and visit, so I let them. It was a great photo opportunity. My girls loved meeting the princesses. Courtney is usually afraid of meeting the different characters, but when we saw them she walked right up to each one and gave them a giant hug. It was so precious! The princesses were very nice and made her feel so special, and the other girls too. It was a great time.

Cute quote of the month!

Well, I haven't been very good at keeping track of the cute things my kids say lately. But, here is a good one from McKayla. She and Brianna were playing doctor and she proclaimed that her name was "Doctor Incovenants." Anyone from church will recognize that name!

An update about our "worst Christmas ever"

Well for those of you who heard about our Christmas events (and those who didn't) here's a recap. On Christmas morning, like most kids, Brianna woke up very early (I think 4 a.m.?) wanting to go see what Santa brought. We let her peek and then sent her back to bed. She made several trips back to our room to see if we could get up yet until finally we obliged at 6:30. We were all looking over the loot and getting ready to open presents when Brianna said her tummy hurt and she thought she was going to throw up.

She ended up in the bathroom for 1/2 an hour. We'd ask her if she was ok and she said she was. After a while we became concerned and I went into the bathroom. She was staring off into the corner and had thrown up. Her behavior was odd, but she was still answering questions and was aware of what was going on. She had uncoordinated motor skills and continued to stare off to the side. She wanted to lay down, so we let her lay on the couch while we opened presents and wondered what was going on with her. It was like a terrible flu suddenly hit her.

Her condition slowly deteriorated to the point that she was no longer responsive and was chewing on the inside of her cheek and drooling. We called 911. When the paramedics arrived she was in bad shape and we were all very scared. They weren't sure what was going on and after injecting her with all sorts of things they took her to the emergency room. Chris rode along and he said that at one point they yelled a "code red" and turned on the lights and sped ahead.

Her body was acting a bit seizure like when the paramedics arrived and so they gave her some anti-seizure medication in the ambulance. That brought her out of it and she eventually fell asleep. When she woke up about an hour later she was her normal self and wanted the needles out of her and wanted to go home! The doctor concluded that she probably had a seizure, which, from the time we found her in the bathroom until she came out of it, lasted two hours!

She underwent a cat scan among many other tests and was cleared to go home that afternoon. We were so glad she was back to normal and didn't have to stay overnight in the hospital. We tried to have a normal Christmas day. But, the trauma and scare of the morning couldn't go away. We just were very confused about what brought this on and what exactly had happened. Brianna proclaimed that afternoon, on the way back from the hospital, that this was, "my worse Christmas ever!" We agreed.

Well, two weeks later she had an EEG and follow-up with a neurologist and it turns out she has epilepsy. During the 30 minute EEG she had dozens of very short seizures. (The EEG was done while she was asleep. To assure that she slept she was only allowed to have 4 hours of sleep the night before! That was a major challenge. I stayed up with her and we "partied" until 1:00 a.m. and Chris woke up with her at 5:00 a.m. She stayed up better than I did as I loaded her with sugar and caffeine. Morning was a different story!)

The doctor said that she likely has been having these brief seizure episodes in her brain for a while, they just never lasted long enough before to have any outward effect on her body. The episode she had at Christmas was a series of many seizures that got progressively more intense and longer in duration. This explains why she was able to communicate with us off and on. This is likely something that she will grow out of when her brain finishes growing, closer to adolescence. She is now on medication twice a day and will continue to take it for the next 3 years at a minimum. We have emergency procedures set up at school and medication there and at home in the event she has a seizure.

It has been a very scary and unexpected turn of events in our lives. Brianna is taking it well and has even talked about it with a few of her friends. We are grateful that she is physically healthy and has not had a problem with recurring seizures. So far she hasn't had anything noticeable since Christmas. She has had to have many blood tests as we try to get the medication levels right and she's actually been really good about getting those done!

We are grateful everything has turned out o.k. Christmas morning was a very scary time for us and we came home from the hospital with a great realization of how much we love her and how grateful we are to have her in our family. When I went to bed that night I layed down in her bed with her and snuggled her for a long time. We didn't have any answers at that point and I was afraid that it was going to happen again. I didn't want to leave her alone. Christmas this year was a day I hope we never go through again.

Anyway, all is well and life goes on. We made our trip to Thailand after reassurance from the doctor there was no reason to cancel or postpone. Her grandparents took very good care of her for us. We continue to pray that she will continue to be fine and will grow out of this condition. Prayers for her from our friends and family are appreciated as well.

Two Weeks of Bliss in Thailand!

We had an amazing vacation in Thailand. I could spend hours writing about all the wonderful things we did. We had a packed itinerary and everything came together seamlessly. It was the best vacation I have ever had. What can be better than two weeks alone with your husband in an amazing country.

We began our trip in Bangkok. The moment we stepped out of the airport Chris commented, "I remember this smell. Just the smell brings it all back to me." Before we left he had been excited about going, but felt a bit like he would rather visit someplace he had never been before. But I could tell that at the moment he smelled the city, he was ecstatic to be there. He talked to the cab driver all the way to the hotel. I think that his Thai was very good and I was impressed with all that he remembered. Many people were shocked that he could speak the language so well and some had a double take because they wondered were the Thai person was. I just viewed the sights and soaked it all in. It was incredible to see the homes, buildings, shops, billboards, markets, etc for the first time. Just amazing.

We were able to see many temples including the grand palace and temple of the emerald Buddha. I was fascinated by the Buddhist religion and their practices of worship to the Buddha. I enjoyed watching the people and how devoted they were. Everywhere people had a Buddha and a picture of the King (whom they hold in the highest respect and honor.) Shrines for both are everywhere!!

We went to Chiang Mai and rode elephants, went bamboo rafting, and visited the hill tribes. We had a wonderful tour guide! We had toured the Bridge of the River Kwai sites on a private tour while in Bangkok and when we got to Chiang Mai we booked another private tour. (only Chris and I with a driver and tour guide for the whole day) She told us so much about everything we saw and the customs of the country. She even took us to some extra places because we had some time left at the end of the day. She used to work with the hill tribes in helping them to not be embarrassed by their ethnic clothing and customs. She even speaks their languages. So, when she offered to take us to see some of them I was ecstatic!

In Udon Thani we were able to go down to the nearby village of Kumpawapi and visit a church branch that Chris worked in. It was his favorite area. We even took the missionaries with us and visited a family that he baptized, but had gone inactive after a couple of years. They recognized him immediately and were overjoyed to see him! They promised to go back to church and the missionaries were excited to have met them and will be visiting them again. It was amazing that we found this family, as addresses mean nothing in that area. Chris remembered pretty much where it was and they asked around the neighborhood the find the exact house. It was wonderful to visit this family and go to church there. The people are so welcoming and the spirit was very strong at church. After church they always have a potluck lunch together. We enjoyed spending that time with them.

We spent the last part of our trip in Phuket, an island very popular among tourists. It was gorgeous! We stayed at the JW Marriot Resort at a private beach there. No other hotels were anywhere close and the beach was pretty much deserted. The water was warm and clean and beautiful. We walked the beach, layed by the pool and enjoyed the extensive tropical grounds! We took a day trip snorkeling at the Phi Phi Islands and loved it so much that we booked another trip to the Similan Islands our last day there. It was a great experience for both of us. The number of fish and the variety of colors was fascinating as well as all the coral!!! The water was so clear and a beautiful blue color. The islands were amazing to see as well. Just a great experience all around.

At night we walked the beach and the grounds around the resort. They had torches all along the paths and around the pools and huge torches in a shallow reflection pool in the center of the resort. The sunsets were gorgeous.

Like I said, I couldn't come close to relaying all that we saw and did on our trip. It was a very cultural experience and a trip we won't ever forget!

Annual Pictures of the Girls

This year, being busy and such I decided to try to take portraits of my girls myself. Hey, why have a camera that can make big photos and not use it? I think they turned out pretty well. The photo op was quite funny, though, as I had to keep calling the dog away as he'd turn up in the background on some pictures! Anyway, I think my girls are beautiful!

More pictures of Orlando

I just love this picture of Courtney being scared of the Grinch. She loved to see the characters from far away, but not up close. She turned her head and then peeked. When he was still there she covered her eyes and peeked. Then she just started screaming! The grinch obviously sees this a lot and posed for a fun photo! The girls got to see Dora, Shrek, Spiderman, the x-men (and women), the Cat in the Hat, Betty Boop, Scooby Doo, and many many more! Lots of fun!

Islands of Adventure

We had an amazing vacation to Orlando! Chris had corporate meetings at the Royal Pacific Resort and we got to crash! The girls and I spent the week at Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios. Univeral Studios was OK. The girls really liked the Barney Show, the amazing Curious George water play area, and the Shrek 4D movie. The Revenge of the Mummy ride was pretty fun for mom and dad. But we all loved Islands of Adventure. Each area had something for everyone and there were play areas galore for the kids. They had some huge coasters for Chris and I to go on and some small rides for the kids. The rides where we got wet were quite fun! Great times and great memories! Enjoy the photos!

Cute Quote of THE YEAR!

OK, I think this one beats them all hands down. McKayla is my thoughtful kid who comes up with some doozies. Here's one from yesterday:

McKayla was talking about Heaven again and how it was a lot like "this earth we live on." I told her that actually it is way better than anything we can imagine. She thought about this for a moment and asked:

"Is Heaven even better than KISSING?"

My answer was an emphatic yes, what else could I say? The thing Chris and I want to know is, how would she even know how good kissing is?

Cute quote of the month!

So McKayla came up with another cute one! She told me this morning as we were getting ready to go to the mountains her theory of how Heavenly Father blesses us. She said that he has a big picture book of everyone that prays and when he wants to bless us he just blesses the book and everyone inside gets blessed.

On the way home we were talking about how the rain clouds go all the way down to the ground when it is raining. McKayla said that Heavenly Father makes the rain and that he lives on one of those clouds, but his cloud doesn't fall down to the ground.

Too cute!

Student of the Month

On Thursday, Chris and I were given a special invitation to go to an awards assembly and Brianna's school because Brianna would be getting an award. She was named Student of the Month! We are so proud of her! She works really hard in school and I'm glad she felt recognized for it. She has also gotten an award for being a Student of Character too!

A trip to the mountains

For Labor Day we went up to Big Bear (finally) and took a ride on the ski lift and hiked back down the mountain. The day was cloudy and much cooler than down in the valley. In fact, we were greeted at the top of the mountain with a thunderstorm. Still, my girls were up to the adventure and we went ahead and hiked back down instead of taking the ski lift. It was 1 1/2 miles and pretty steep. We had to break out the umbrella a few times, but overall it was pleasant. The mountains were beautiful and we decided we have got to visit more often!

All I want for Halloween?

It's official, Brianna has now lost her two front teeth (top and bottom, though one of the bottom ones is in now). She had a loose top tooth for a very long time and finally she decided she wanted it out. It only took a quick twist and it was out. The new tooth was already sticking out when the baby tooth came out! Well, the one next to it was beginning to get loose, this was about 2 weeks ago. We've been checking it, but it was still in there pretty good.

Here's the part we'll not forget: Today Brianna and I were playing hot potato with her soccer ball when the ball hit her in her open mouth. She told me that it hurt and when she pulled her hand away from her mouth there was blood on it. It took a look at her mouth and her tooth was gone! She was very excited because she said it hardly hurt. We took a quick look in the grass and found it. So, it looks like a little fairy will be coming to our house tonight!

Summer Nights at the Zoo

So two weeks ago we went a little crazy and had a "Zoo Weekend." We have annual passes to the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park and we go a LOT! We just love it there and the kids are always so well behaved and excited to go. Every time we go we get to see something new and different as we observe the animals.

Well, during the Summer the zoo is open until 9:00. Considering that our kids go to bed by 7:30, that is a late night for them. Well, we went a month ago and got in line to see the "Jewels of the Rainforest" acrobatic show, only to have it rained out . (yes, in San Diego in the Summer. It seems they can't handle a little drizzle.) Well, we ended up going on Friday afternoon, as Chris is usually home and done with work early, and Brianna has early dismissal every Friday. We went to the Wild Animal Park and didn't get home until like 10pm. The next day we didn't have any work to do, so we decided we might as well go again, but to the Zoo this time. We stayed for the late show--which was amazing--and got home late yet again (11pm?). The girls were just all oohs and aahs for the shows, which makes it all worth it. They all want to be gymnasts and acrobats now, not that Courtney needed any more ideas!

Beginning Soccer

I'm officially a soccer mom. I'm not so sure I like it. Our lives are centered around soccer on Tues/Thurs, with two practices in the evening right around dinner time on opposite ends of town--AND two games on Saturdays!

Brianna and McKayla had their first soccer game last Saturday. McKayla is by far the youngest and smallest on her team. She loves soccer, but she spends most of the game just observing the group and following everyone else around the field. The ball with go right by her and she'll just watch it. Her coaches are good about letting her do goal kicks and throw the ball in a lot. She loves it. The picture tells it all--notice the girl getting ready to catch the ball?

Brianna's team is actually quite good. I am amazed at what some of those girls can do. Brianna has so far been a bit reserved. We spent Saturday evening playing a good natured game in the backyard. McKayla and Mom against Brianna and Dad. It was so fun. We got those girls really playing aggressive and going for the ball.

I broke down and bought McKayla a pair of cleats yesterday. They are so TINY! She's on cloud nine and is convinced she can run faster and kick the ball farther now. So cute....

Overall, I'm amazed at what goes into these AYSO little kids leagues. We're talking fancy team banners, matching hair ribbons, sponsers, pictures, fund raisers, decals for the car, etc. Wow!

A Reunion

While we were in Oregon I got to visit with two of my best friends from high school. We've hardly kept in touch and it was SO great to see them. I hope that we can keep in touch via e-mail, now that we have each others addresses. (That is, if they forgive me for puting their picture on my blog!)